CEO must be accessible to media - Financial Times

In the midst of this reputation-busting recession, many CEOs may be tempted to duck under cover. Few things could cause more reputation damage, particularly given the fact that whether executives want to realize it or not, the CEO is the living personification of most organizations, public or not-for-profit. The absence of a CEO's comment, even in the middle of bad news, sends the wrong kind of message to customers, vendors, clients, stakeholders, shareholders, and perhaps most importantly, key influencers.
As the Financial Times recently reported about a London business conference: "Ian Davis, the former head of consultants McKinsey , argued that many do not speak up because of the media’s unrelenting cynicism towards business. But Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, said that in spite of this, leaders needed to communicate with the outside world as part of being good corporate citizens."
A robust discussion follows in the Financial Times coverage, including this statement: "The reputation of corporations and their leaders is at an all-time low. How much more evidence do business leaders need to recognise that communicating with the general public, as well as customers, employees and shareholders is mandatory?"
As one expert put it, strong leadership and a CEO presence in publicly responding to negative trends is "mission critical."